Tuesday, January 27, 2009

J.P. Miller study

I got some gouache for Christmas, too. This study is more recent than the previous scans (two weeks ago, I'd guess). Next post will be 100% made-that-week content, promise.

Original (above; I scanned my little cardboard copy of the book)I applied the exact same post-scan modifications to the contrast as I did the cover, so they should be comparable.

Anyway, this is the first time I've copied a painting in years. I am very rusty but I loved doing this! I will never say "I have nothing to paint!" again. Miller's stuff is so fun to look at, nevertheless recreate.

It was cool to figure out the colors. I think I matched the overall feather color (in the light) pretty well. I wouldn't have realized it was such a light orange had I not done this study. However, my shadows aren't dark enough and look too red. The yellows on the hat and beak are too warm in my version. And, of course, there are huge drawing problems (especially since I couldn't sketch/correct much for fear of muddying the paint... now that I have a light table I should be able to sketch on a different piece of paper before transferring the lines over to paper thick enough to paint on).

The left leg sticks out too far and is too large and the near hand is too long/deformed; these may be problems caused by choosing not to paint the shovel. I stretched the head and smooshed her tail feathers. D'oh.

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This is a Study Blog

This blog is devoted to STUDIES of the traditional cartoon. Most ideas on here are not mine (characters, poses, etc.)-- this is a blog about learning new things about classic cartooning. While I am proud of my work posted here, I can't take credit for the ideas.

I owe a lot to my mentor, John K. He is a great teacher, and many of these studies also use his drawings as a starting point.